Yankees Third Baseman Alex Rodriguez to Undergo Knee Surgery

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is going to have arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. A team spokesman confirmed that Rodriguez was going to have the surgery and will likely miss four to six weeks of playing time.

The tear was discovered by an MRI on Friday and by electing to undergo the surgery today Rodriguez is using the All Star Break to minimize the number of games that he will miss while on the disabled list.

It would have been possible for Rodriguez to continue through the season and undergo surgery in the offseason but manager Joe Girardi was concerned with the Yankees upcoming games on fake grass fields, which are tough on players's joints.

Yankees outfielder Andruw Jones underwent similar surgery in 2008 and rushed his comeback to the LA Dodgers. Jones wound up re-injuring the knee and was forced back to the disabled list. He said that his power at the plate was greatly affected by the injury.

Rogriguez has been in a recent power slump gong homerless in his past 85 plate appearances, the longest drought of his career. His current pace puts him on track to reach 24 homers and break his streak of 13 straight 30 home run seasons.